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Spring Break is here and with it comes choices. If any of you were as unfortunate enough to have been forced to watch those anti-underage drinking or child predator public service announcements, you know what I’m talking about. I remember those horrendous days when we’d have to sit in the auditorium and listen to the principal ramble on and on before an equally boring video, as cheesy as the nachos being served for lunch, was played. I mean, it’s common sense that people lack in these situations, right? When I was a kid, these videos meant literally nothing. I didn’t go out to parties, I don’t give my personal information to strangers on the internet, in fact I hesitate and even try to avoid giving my address to friends. I had no intention whatsoever to drink alcohol and I never went out to do anything after school. It was pretty safe to say it was not relevant at all, at least to me. However, now in college, those messages that I ignored were becoming more relevant, not so much for me but for those around me. Dangerous situations that my fellow students would get into were becoming a reality and not just a situation in a bad Lifetime movie. It seems to be a rite of passage for the freshmen to partake in certain illicit activities during their time in college. It had been so since forever that it has become a trope in popular culture. You can’t ignore it because there policies against it. Since I work with the Housekeeping staff on campus, I’ve seen the evidence of that rite. Despite the fact that it is very hard, if not impossible, to stop it, we can make choices to mitigate or protect those that do partake. What those exact contingencies are, I can’t really say. I’m not an expert not report to be. I’m just a student. But what I can do is provide some basic common sense that I feel is lacking heavily nowadays.

have friends taking road trips and others are heading for famous or infamous, depending on your preference, Spring Break hubs, like Miami and Cancun. For myself, I’m heading home. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen my parents. I miss it, especially the home cooking. Living on campus, you learn to appreciate little things like having someone else wash your close or make your meals. Some people might call me a bore for staying at home and not “living” as they would put it. I just have to say this. I have my entire life to enjoy time for myself, to see the world. But I don’t have my entire time to be with my parents. They are old, old enough to be the grandparents of my fellow students. I know this and I know that reality comes with it certain attitudes and values. I’ll speak more of those values in a later post. What I want to talk about right now is choices.

We have choices that we can make that not only affect ourselves but those around us. When you go out drinking and having a good time, that’s one thing. I’m not some prude or prohibitionist that wants to ruin everyone’s fun. But someone’s fun ends when it directly affects the lives of others, physically or mentally. I saw this one post about Alcohol and Gender around campus. There is a need for people to have a bit of introspection when it comes to their actions. Common sense, it’s something we lack in abundance nowadays it seems. People drink, they party, they get high or whatever and then something bad happens and everyone asks, ‘what were they thinking?’ That’s the problem, they weren’t thinking. They made poor choices that ended in someone getting hurt. Granted, a lot of the time, nothing does happen. But for those times something does, we see it on the news all the time. I don’t need to gone on this issue, right? You were like me right? You saw those dumb videos, those repetitive anti-sexual assault courses that tell us exactly what we already know. I just want everyone to come back to campus safe. Choices, we all make them. Some of us make it on impulse and others on experience. No matter what process, we make choices and it’s up to us to decide, to think beyond the presence and think of what might happen if I do this. Go have fun this week. But make sure you’re making decisions you won’t regret. I know I won’t.

My apologies for not posting last week, or on Halloween day…or even about Halloween!!! Ugh, so many apologies but, rest assured there will be talk of Halloween next week. SXU hosted a little Halloween bash on the 31st and I will let you know all about that next week. Although, this week, in light of my need for apologies due to non-existent and late postings , I think now would be a good time to talk about time management.

First off, let me be clear, I am not an expert on time management, or even good at it, or even do it regularty, but, regardless of my bad choices, its very important to insure that you don’t have loads of assignments, responsibilities and other due dates piling up on you. Regardless of whether you are in high school, college, or even a working citizen, time management and prioritization is a necessity to achieve success. In which case, ask your self

“Say self”

“Yes, self?”

“What should I be doing right now?”

“My guess is playing videogames, eating all the foods, and flirting with the new starbucks server.”

“No! Bad self, Bad!”

We are in school, in which case school work should probably take priority. Of course there are a few serious cases where you may be hindered from this priority. Please do not try to do your homework if there is searing pain coursing through your body, you should really get that checked out.

Work is also a top priority because Work=Money and money is good. Same with the school work, if there is searing pain, please see doctor first.

Oh money, how I love thee.

Afterwards, once all the school and work is done then of course comes the miscellaneous responsibilities that may or may not be unique to us, these usually should be attended to after school and Work is done but there are just some responsibilities that just won’t go away until it gets your full attention, prepare adequately for this.

You never know when you got to deal with a roaming triceratops. Be prepared.

Make sure your time is appropriately adjusted so that all of the top priorities are handled before you decide to play videogames, eat all the foods, and flirt with Starbucks employees. Trust me, you will save yourself a lot of grief. Until next readers, enjoy life.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you don’t even know what day it is? Have you ever been so stressed out and worn down that you slept for like 16 hours of the day?

I have! He has! She has! They have! We all have!

A lot of the stress that college student encounter is negative stress. You broke-up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, your best friend is mad at you, the cafe is closed, you gained 5 pounds, that girl you’ve had your eye on is totally not interested, your sister ruined your favorite shirt, your roommate ALWAYS has her boyfriend over, you went out instead of studying and failed… we have and will always these issues! I want to share with you some of the ways that I keep my stress levels down.

Stay active- going to the gym, working out, walking, participating in intramural sports… these activities actually help you stay awake throughout the day. These activities also help you burn stress and blow off some steam that you may have built up! Staying active also helps keep you in shape!

Eat all of your meals- the minute you skip a meal, your body is sooooooo mad at you. There are plenty of healthy meals that you can eat on any campus. There is also plenty of junk food that you can avoid! You and still eat your meals and keep a healthy weight, if you do it right!

Hangout with your friends- sometimes you just need to take you mind off of life and go out with your friends for dinner, ice cream, or a margarita! (if you’re 21!) It’s nice to not worry about anything for a short period of time, wiping your mind clean of all stress can also help you solve your stress. Taking a step back and looking at everything that is going on from a larger pint of view can benefit you. Sometimes all we need is someone to listen to us vent.

Call your mom/dad/grandma/sibling- maybe you feel a bit distant from your family now that college has taken over your life. Bring them up to speed with what is going on in your life, maybe they will have the right advice for you! Again, sometimes all we need is someone to listen to us vent.

Keep you body happy- if you neglect your body, it will retaliate! Fight your lack of motivation and make sure to shower, get a full night of rest, and drink plenty of water or tea!

Make a list- tell yourself what you need to accomplish and prioritize it starting with what is due/what needs to be done first. Make sure to cross off what you accomplished, it feels good!

Reward yourself- make sure to tell yourself you did a great job! Pat yourself on the back, go do something nice for yourself (I like getting my nails done! hehe)

Make time for school- you will not pass your classes if you do not try to understand the material that the teacher is going to test you on! Some things that I do to keep my brain engaged after class hours include:

Rewriting notesMaking FlashcardsRereading the chapterTalking with others about your materialRe-teaching/explaining to someone the material you learned